Mean Girls: Every Witch Way Style
by ghostgirl19
Summary: Sixteen year-old Emma Alonso has just moved to Miami, and soon becomes a hit with the school's top clique: The Panthers. But then, she makes the 'mistake' of falling for Jax Novoa; Head Panther Maddie Van Pelt's ex-boyfriend. From drama, to humor, to romance, these Mean Girls experience it all...Watch Your Back. Teamwork fic with lovethatignites!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! lovethatignites and I had ideas for a Mean Girls EWW style fanfic, so we decided to write one together! :D The trailer for this fanfic is on her profile. **

**This chapter will be written by me, and the next will be written by lovethatignites :)**

**Chapter 1**

"Now, this is your lunch money, okay? Here's your schedule too. Don't forget, you can always come to my office if you need anything. So, are you ready for your first day of school?"

I smiled, brushing back my dark brown hair, "I think so."

"I can't believe it, it's Emma's big day," my father brought a hand up to wipe the fallen tear away.

I'm sixteen, and until today I was homeschooled. Now, I know what you're thinking, homeschooled kids are freaks. But my family's totally normal. Well, besides the fact that my late mother was a witch and that I'm a witch too, and the Chosen One at that.

It's true, I can cast spells and am destined to protect the Magic Realm. My guardian Lily taught me everything I know, and the Hexoren, a spell book, has almost every spell I could ever need.

Unfortunately I had to leave Lily behind when I left Brookefield; a small rural town in Pennsylvania. You see, my father, Francisco, recently went back to school for a teaching degree. After getting it, a school in Miami called Iridium High wanted him to be their new principal! So it was goodbye Brookefield, and hello high school. Yep, Dad wanted me to get to know people, so no more homeschooling for me.

But I did know a girl back in Brookefield, she was a witch like me. A fun fact about witches is that when you touch one, you get a sort of 'electric shock.' One day when I was running down the street, I happened to bump into her, and we soon became friends. But we can't keep in touch because of my lack of a cell phone.

Back in the present. My dad walked me to the doors, then turned to face me. "Are you sure you're okay? You know where your classes are?"

I didn't want to be a burden to him, he's a principal, he has other things to take care of. "Yeah, Dad. I'm fine!"

He smiled, "if you insist." He gave me a hug before leaving for his office.

I looked down at my schedule, the first place I had to be was Homeroom with Ms. Ramona. Plastering a smile on my face, I headed to her room.

When I got in there were some other students, but I managed to find a really tall girl. I figured she's the teacher.

"Um, excuse me?" I asked, walking up to her, "I don't know if anyone told you about me. I'm a new student here, my name's Emma Alonso."

Her lip curled up in disgust, "talk to me again and I'll kick your ass."

My eyes widened in fear as she marched off. Well, either the teachers aren't very professional here, or that wasn't the teacher.

Well, I guess I should find a place to sit. I walked to a seat in the middle of the first row, it was the first one I saw.

"You don't wanna sit there," a new voice spoke.

I looked up to see a girl with light brown hair with a purple streak sitting about two rows back, "Jessica Haley's boyfriend is gonna sit there."

All of a sudden a boy slid into the seat, "hey baby!" He greeted before they were in a major make-out session.

A shiver of disgust rolled through me as I made my way to another desk, a little closer to the girl who warned me.

"He farts a lot," she grinned in amusement, motioning her head towards the boy in front of the desk.

On cue, the boy...um, passed gas. Disgusted, I moved away from the desk. Unfortunately, by now more and more desks were being filled, and time to sit down was running out. I should've watched where I was going, because next thing I know I'm colliding into a body and I hear liquid being spilled.

The other students laughed as I gasped, spinning around to see...the teacher.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I panicked, picking up her papers from the floor, along with the now empty coffee cup.

"It's not you, I'm bad luck." She sighed, raising her arms to take off her sweater.

"Oh no, it's my fault! I'm really clumsy and I'm so sorry-"

"Ms. Ramona?"

Just now I realized that Ramona was now unintentionally showing off her bra, right for my father to see.

"My t-shirt's stuck to my sweater, isn't it?" I heard her groan from under the clothing.

I nodded awkwardly, "yeah." I proceeded to pull the shirt down so she could take the sweater off.

"Fantastic." She sighed.

"Is everything alright in here?" Dad asked, turning to me.

"Um, yeah." I replied awkwardly. I was all too aware of the stares.

"So, how was your summer?" Dad smiled at the teacher.

"I got divorced," she deadpanned.

"Oh, well that's too bad," he grinned.

Huh?!

He stepped back to face the class, "well, I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm the new principal here, my name is Mr. Alonso. We have a new student with us, she's also my daughter; Emma Alonso."

I smiled brightly...no one bothered to return it.

He leaned closer to Ramona, "and if you need anything, or you want to talk to somebody..."

Oh my God, my dad's flirting with my teacher! If only I could cast a spell and get rid of the embarrasement.

"Thanks, maybe some other time," Ramona forced a smile.

Dad smiled, then left the room. After that, Ms. Ramona quickly welcomed everyone right before the bell rang.

The first day of school was a blur. A stressful, surreal blur. I got in trouble for the most random things!

Like when I got up in class to go to the bathroom, the teacher stopped me and asked where I was going. I said that I had to use the bathroom, but he said I needed the lavatory pass, so I asked for it. He told me 'nice try' and to take a seat. What the heck?!

I had never lived in a world where adults didn't trust me, where they were always yelling at me.

_Don't read ahead!_

_No green pen!_

_No food in class!_

Lunch was a nightmare. At first I passed by several tables, but none of them seemed too welcoming, especially when a girl eyed me suspiciously then placed her bag on the empty seat beside her.

Eventually I gave up, locking myself in the bathroom. I couldn't just eat in my dad's office, he has work to do. So, I relied on magic.

After making sure there was no one else in the bathroom, I made a table, chair, and delicious meal appear. Smirking, I tossed the less-than-appetizing cafeteria food in the trash can and devoured my lunch.

However, I knew I couldn't do this for the rest of the year. I had some friends in Brookefield, but so far, none in Miami.

By the time Dad came home, I was already in the middle of cooking dinner; spaghetti.

"Hey, how was your first day?" He asked with a huge smile.

It was obvious his day was fantastic while mine sucked. However, I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

So I nodded, smiling weakly, "it was fine."

**A/N: Hope you liked it! **

**lovethatignites: I figured when the time came Francisco could just call her by some random first name or just keep referring to her as 'Ms. Ramona,' I thought that'd be easiest :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello! lovethatignites here. :) I hope you enjoyed ghostgirl19's awesome first chapter. To Jemma 4Eva: those characters you asked about are randoms. There are some randoms in this story who are there because they were there in _Mean Girls_. With that said, here's Chapter 2, written by me. I hope you guys enjoy it and please review! :)**

**Note from ghostgirl19: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! We appreciate every single one! :D**

**Chapter 2**

The next day was Tuesday. I wanted to run as fast as I possibly could to homeroom to ensure I got a decent seat. But something was telling me not to. I got this weird sense that running through the halls was not a good idea. So instead I nervously speed-walked.

I ended up making it literally just as the bell rang.

I looked around and noticed two empty desks on one side of the room. They were right in front of one another and thankfully free of the gassy kid. I soldiered on over and chose the second one.

While I was taking my jacket off and trying super hard to keep my eyes down to avoid eye contact with anyone (I really didn't want to get beaten up), I could feel two sets of eyes on me. I could feel them. One set belonged to the girl with the purple streak; the other to a boy sitting behind her. I tried to ignore them.  
But then the boy spoke to me so I couldn't.

"Is that your natural hair color?" he asked.

I nervously looked up. He was lanky with slightly unruly brown hair. Well, he sounded genuinely curious and nothing about him came off as threatening. So I smiled and said, "Yeah."

"It's _gorgeous_," he said.

I could have fainted. Finally! Someone nice! "Thank you."

I was still grinning when he grabbed my hair and held his phone up to it. "See, this is the color she wants. She hasn't gone for it because she said the other moms in Tommy's play group will notice and she isn't sure if it'll be in a good way, but I keep telling her she just has to take the plunge."

I guess my expression said it all because the girl tried not to laugh as she explained, "This is Daniel. He's almost too much of a mama's boy to function."

"Nice to meet—"

"There's nothing wrong with respecting your parents," he interrupted me to snap at the girl. Then his face softened and he showed me his phone. "This is her. Isn't she pretty?" On the screen was a picture of Daniel with his arm around a middle-aged woman with slightly graying hair. His mom.

"Um, yeah." I tried to smile even though I was a little confused. "She's really pretty."

A satisfied smile lit up Daniel's face. He lovingly shared a moment with the picture on his phone in response.

I was extracting my school schedule from my binder when a new voice spoke: "Nice wig, Andi." The comment came from a buff guy who was passing through the isle one over from mine. "What's it made of?"

"YOUR MOM'S CHEST HAIR!" the girl with the purple streak shouted. Then she composed herself and returned her eyes to me. With a smile, she said, "I'm Andi."

Amused by the weirdness that had just taken place and relieved to know someone else's name, I grinned and said, "Hi, I'm Emma." I glanced down at my schedule. I had health class today and I had no idea where the classroom was at. I'd meant to ask my dad about it last night, but by the time I got home, I was so exhausted it didn't even cross my mind. So I bit my lip and looked at Andi and Daniel. "Do you guys know where Room G-14 is?"

Daniel grabbed my schedule and he and Andi looked it over. "Health, Tuesday/Thursday, Room G-14."

"I think that's in the back building…"

Daniel looked at Andi with confusion for half a second but then he broke out into a smile and said, "Oh yeah, that's in the back building."

"Yeah, we'll take you there."

I ignored whatever seemed off about their little exchange and smiled. "Thanks!"

* * *

After homeroom let out, Daniel and Andi (who were quite the pair; Andi was nearly half Daniel's height) ushered me through the halls of Iridium High all the way to an exit door. Once we got outside, Andi walked ahead of us to lead the way while Daniel looked over my schedule more thoroughly.

"Health… Spanish…" His eyebrows shot up. "You're taking _twelfth grade calculus_?"

Andi barked out a laugh. "Daniel's on his third year of ninth grade Algebra 1."

He cut his eyes at her then returned his attention to me. "Why are you taking twelfth grade calculus?"

"I like math."

"Why?"

"My dad likes math. It was always his favorite subject to teach me."

The boy's face lit up in such a way you'd have thought I just handed him a newborn puppy. "Do you have a special bond with your parents, too?"

"Um…" I glanced up, mentally searching for the right response. But instead I found Andi plopped down under a tree. She was sitting criss-cross applesauce and didn't look like she had any intention of getting up anytime soon. And then Daniel sat down next to her… I looked around, both confused and suspicious. "Where's the back building…?"

Andi looked up at me with a mischievous smile. "It burned down in 1987."

"Uh, won't we get into some kind of trouble for this?" I mean, I don't really know how this public school stuff works, but my dad's the principal; won't someone tell him I wasn't in class?

Daniel looked offended while Andi looked puzzled. "Why would we get you into trouble?" she inquired, completely serious. "We're you're friends."

Not going to lie: it's probably embarrassing how happy I was to hear that.

I know it's wrong to cut class… but Andi said we were friends. And let's be honest: I needed some friends. I was in no position to let my jitteriness get the better of me and insist we go back inside. That building was already my least favorite place on Earth and the weather in Miami was so nice and two people actually wanted to socialize with me! After yesterday's nightmare, this was practically a miracle.

I glanced around but found no teachers or whoever I thought I'd find waiting to report us to my dad. So with a deep breath and a smile, I sat down with my new _friends_.

I guess I'll never know what I missed on that first day of health class.

* * *

_Meanwhile, in health class…_

"Don't have sex," Coach Agamemnon bluntly stated to the gymnasium full of high school students. Behind him was a whiteboard with the words SAFE SEX written up top followed by a list of ways to stay safe. Abstinence came in at number one. "Cuz you _will_ get pregnant. And DIE. Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up…"

The students were divided between staring at him in an extremely uncomfortable manner and intently copying the list on the whiteboard into their notebooks.

Coach Aggie noticed and decided to cut the lesson short. "Just… don't do it, promise?"

No one responded.

He sighed and reached down for a plastic bin full of condoms. He held it out to the students, gave it a little shake, and instructed, "Alright, everybody take some rubbers."

* * *

"So you guys moved because your dad got a job as the principal…" Andi said thoughtfully, penciling something else onto her already impressive sketch. It looked like a map of some sort. "But if you were homeschooled all your life, why didn't you just switch to cyber school?"

"My dad wanted me to get _socialized_." I added the emphasis because it certainly had not been my decision. I would have gladly done cyber school had my dad allowed… and if someone taught me how to use a computer. Not that Andi and Daniel needed to know we've been poor all our lives. My dad was elated when he got this job. He said we'd finally have the money to buy a TV and cell phones, even though I don't see what's so great about either of those things.

Daniel looked me over and snorted. "Oh you'll get socialized alright."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a regulation hottie," Andi clarified with an eye roll and the hint of a smile.

My eyebrows shot up. "What?"

Daniel placed a hand to my penny loafer and said, "Like my mom always says: if you've got it, own it."

"How do you spell your name again, Emmalyn?" Andi asked, positioning her pencil above her paper.

"Um, it's just Emma." Not sure where she got the _–lyn_ from. "And the usual way: E-M-M-A."

Andi considered me for a moment then decided, "Yeah I'm gonna call you Emmalyn."

Well okay then.

Suddenly, Daniel groaned, "Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me." I followed his gaze over to a group of kids emerging from the school. They were a sea of dark blue and orange walking/running/meandering onto the football field. "Would you look at Sophie Johnson's gym clothes?"

Andi rolled her eyes again, but this time it was with disgust. "Of course all the Panthers are in the same gym class…"

Where I come from, a panther is an animal…

"Who are the Panthers?" I asked.

"They're teen royalty," Daniel explained. "If Iridium High was _Us Weekly_, they would always be on the cover."

Andi pointed her pencil at a girl with wavy dirty blonde hair. Instead of a tee shirt, she was wearing a tank top. "That little one there, that's Sophie Johnson. She is one of the dumbest girls you will ever meet."

As if on cue, Sophie held up her hands and motioned for someone to toss her a football. The person did as much, but Sophie had her hands up too high and it ended up hitting her square in the boobs.

Andi shook her head. "Daniel sat next to her in English last year."

Daniel leaned forward and told me in a confidential tone, "She asked me how to spell _koala_."

I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"And that tall, skinny one?" Andi went on, motioning to a dark-skinned girl with long dark curly hair. Her tee shirt was two sizes too small, exposing her flat stomach.

She was talking on a pink cell phone, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was in gym class. "That's Katie Rice." Someone threw another football and it hit Katie right in the head. She and her cell phone went tumbling down into the grass.

"She's totally rich because her dad invented Toaster Strudel," Daniel explained.

"Katie Rice knows everybody's business," Andi went on. "She knows everything about everyone."

"That's why her hair is so big. It's _full of secrets_."

And then a new sight took my attention: a pack of boys was carrying a pretty blonde girl onto the field.

"And evil takes a human form in Maddie Van Pelt," Andi said as the guys set Maddie on the ground and she blew them a kiss. "Don't be fooled, because she may seem like your typical selfish, back-stabbing, slut-faced ho-bag, but in reality, she is so much more than that."

"She's Head Panther, the Queen Bee, the star…" Daniel trailed off as Maddie walked over to Katie and Sophie who immediately fawned all over her. "Those other two are just her little workers."

"Maddie Van Pelt…" Andi tapped her pencil against her teeth, deep in thought. "How do I even begin to describe Maddie Van Pelt?" Then she feigned shock and said, "Oh! I know. I'll just show you Miss Information's blog post about how to describe Maddie Van Pelt."

As she extracted her phone from her school uniform's dress pants, Daniel gave her a disapproving look. When she noticed, she made a face. "Oh, grow up." She turned to me and said, "He's not a fan of Gigi's blog."

"My mom says gossip sites aren't nice!" Daniel's tone was all defensive.

My mom died when I was born, so I'm not familiar with the typical mother/teenager relationship. But something tells me what Daniel has with his mom is not it.  
Once the page loaded, Andi selected the video she wanted then handed me her phone.

* * *

_"What's up, Iridium Knights!"a perky brunette said into a microphone. "This is Miss Information coming to you live from the Iridium High parking lot. I'm about to _

_interview some of our fellow students to get their takes on Head Panther, Maddie Van Pelt."_

_She ran up to a random girl while whoever was holding the camera hurried after her._

_"Quick! Describe Maddie Van Pelt." She thrust the microphone in the girl's face and waited for her answer._

_"Maddie Van Pelt is flawless," the girl said in an almost mesmerized trance._

_The video cut to a clip of Miss Information holding the mic out to another girl. __"She has two Fendi purses and a pink Lexus."_

_And another: __"I hear her hair's ensured for $5,000."_

_"I hear she does car commercials. In Italy."_

_"Her favorite movies are romantic comedies."_

_"One time, she met Keegan Allen on a plane."_

_Another girl cut in, "And he told her she was pretty!"_

_"One time, she punched me in the face." The girl paused to savor the memory then concluded, "It was awesome."_

_"There you have it!" the brunette exclaimed. "Until next time, I'm Gigi Rueda and you've been Miss Informed!_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi everyone! I, ghostgirl19, am providing you with this chapter today ;)**

**Note from lovethatignites: As I'm sure you guys have noticed, there's a girl on here who copied our idea. All the reviews the story got were calling her out on it. One even said he/she stands by two of his/her fave authors on here, ghostgirl19 and I. I just wanted to say thank you so much. Your loyalty is very much appreciated. We love you guys!**

**Chapter 3**

Back in the school, Daniel was continuing on about Maddie Van Pelt.

"She always looks fierce, like a panther. And she always wins Spring Fling Queen."

"Who cares?" Andi rolled her eyes.

"I care!" Daniel retorted, then turned back to me, "every year, the seniors throw this dance for the underclassmen called the Spring Fling. And whomsoever is elected Spring Fling King and Queen automatically becomes head of the Student Activities Committee. And since I'm an active member of the Student Activities Committee and with my mom so proud me on everyday," he focused his attention back on Andi, "I would say, yeah, I care!"

"Daniel you've truly out-mama's boy'ed yourself." She replied with little care.

She looked at me, holding out a piece of paper. This must've been what she was busy with when we were outside. "Here. This map is gonna be your guide to Iridium High. Now, where you sit in the cafeteria is crucial, because you got everybody there. You got your freshman, ROTC guys, preps, JV jocks, Asian nerds, cool Asians, varsity jocks, unfriendly black hotties, girls who eat their feelings, girls who don't eat anything,"

At this point I was utterly speechless.

"...girls who don't eat anything, desperate wannabes, burnouts,"

"What's a burnout?" I asked, confused.

Daniel and Andi looked at each other, smirking. Andi laid a hand on my shoulder, "you'll find out when you're older."

I tilted my head...we're the same age so why can't any of them tell me?

She continued on, "...sexually active band geeks, the junior Sharks aka the greatest people you will ever meet, and the worst. Beware of the Panthers."

Soon enough I found myself back in the lunchroom with a tray full of food again. However, I had friends to sit with this time.

Smiling, I made my way over to their table, when a boy walked up to me.

"Hey, we're doing a lunchtime survey of new students. Can you answer a few questions?"

A lunchtime survey of new students? How many new people were there? I won't question it...

"Um, okay," I beamed, wanting to seem friendly.

Something flashed in his eyes, before he smirked...and it kind of unnerved me a little. "Is your muffin buttered?" He asked.

I looked down at my tray...I had no muffin?

"What?" What is he talking about?

His smirk grew wider, "would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?" A group of guys behind us were beginning to snicker.

But I don't have a muffin! Who eats muffins for lunch, anyway?! "My what?"

"Is he bothering you?" A female voice spoke up.

I turned to my right to see all three Panthers seated by themselves. Maddie was in the middle, currently speaking. "Thomas, why are you such a skeez?" She spat.

'Thomas' scoffed, "I was just being friendly."

"You were supposed to call me last night," Katie whispered.

Maddie began talking again, "Thomas, you do not come to a party at my house with Katie, and then scam on some poor, innocent girl right in front of us three days later," her eyes narrowed, "she's not interested."

Huh? Interested? Interested in what? Him?!

She straightened up, directing her attention at me, "do you want to have sex with him?" She asked bluntly.

My father gave me 'The Talk,' and even though the conversation was extremely awkward, I learned what sex was.

And I definately knew I didn't want to experience it with this 'Thomas' character.

"No, thank you!"

He looked like someone kicked him right in the pride, while Maddie grinned. "Good. So it's settled. So you can go wash your feet now, because those things smell freaking nasty."*

Thomas blushed in embarrassment, and before walking away, stopped to give me and Maddie cold glares. His buddies were in full on hysterics now.

I tried walking to Andi's table, but Maddie stopped me. "Wait, sit down."

I gave her an incredulous look. She's the most popular girl in school, and she wants _me _to sit with her?

"Seriously, sit down!" She smiled invitingly.

Something told me she was used to things going her way. But she did just save me, so I had to thank her somehow. So I set down my tray at the table and sat in the empty chair across from her.

"Why don't I know you?" She used the same sweet tone from when she first told me to sit down.

"I'm new, I just moved here from a small town in Pennsylvania," I replied.

"Huh?" She asked.

"I used to be home-schooled," I went on.

Now she looked really confused, "wait, what?"

Does she not know what home-schooled means? "Well, my dad taught me at home-"

"No, no! I know what home-schooled means!" She announced, "so you've actually never been to a real school before?"

Smiling awkwardly, I shrugged and shook my head 'no.'

Katie, Sophie, and Maddie all looked at each other in shock. Maddie's mouth was curved up in a delighted expression, "shut up. Shut up!"

Huh? "I didn't say anything?"

They ignored my comment. "Home-schooled, that's really interesting," Maddie leaned back in her seat.

"Thanks," I replied.

"But you're, like, really pretty," she continued.

Wow! The 'Head Panther' complementing me? "Thank you!"

She sat up again, "so you agree?"

Agree to what? "What?"

"You think you're really pretty," she elaborated.

That isn't what I meant! I don't want to seem conceited..."Oh, I don't know-"

"Oh my God, I love your glittery shoes, where did you get them?" She asked suddenly.

"I made them myself," I smiled, glad for the change in conversation.

"They're adorable!"

"So tote!" Katie piped up.

Maddie turned to her, raising an eyebrow, "what is 'tote?'"

"Oh, it's like slang! From France!" She answered giddily.

"So, if you're from Pennsylvania, do you have a farm?" Sophie tilted her head, asking me this in a confused tone.

"Oh my God Sophie, you can't just ask people if they have farms!" Katie scolded.

Maddie gave me a sweet smile, "could you give us some privacy, for like, one second?"

I shrugged, "yeah, sure."

I used this time to look at Andi and Daniel's table. _What are you doing?!_ She mouthed to me. I frantically shrugged in return, I had no idea what I was doing.

Finally they returned their attention to me. "Okay, you should just know that we don't do this a lot, so this is, like, a really huge deal," Maddie said.

"We wanna invite you to have lunch with us everyday for the rest of the week!" Katie grinned.

The rest of the week? But what about Andi and Daniel? "Oh, it's okay-"

"Coolness. So we'll see you tomorrow!" Maddie cut me off.

"On Wednesdays, we wear pink!" Sophie informed me happily.

After lunch, I met up with Andi and Daniel in the bathroom, telling them all that happened during my time with the Panthers.

"Oh my God, you _have_ to do it!" Andi managed to say in between bouts of laughter, "And then you have to tell me all the horrible things Maddie says!"

Horrible? She didn't insult me at all..."Maddie seems sweet."

Andi scowled, "Maddie Van Pelt is not sweet! She's a scum-sucking road whore who ruined my life. She deserves to have her brain eaten by a zombie!"

"She's fabulous, but evil," Daniel spoke up.

Suddenly a girl walked out of a bathroom stall. Her face contorted in anger, "hey, get out of here!"

Daniel gasped, "you're not my mom, you can't tell me what to do!"

Disgusted, the girl walked out after washing her hands.

I focused back on Andi, "why do you hate her?" She never really explained her reason for hating Maddie.

"What do you mean?" She asked, as if it was obvious.

"Maddie. You seem to really hate her."

"Yeah, what's your question?"

Did she not have a reason? Did she just hate her for the heck of it?

"Well, my question is _why_." I clarified, wanting to know the answer.

"Maddie started this rumor that Andi was-" Daniel began but Andi cut him off. "Daniel! Can we not?!"

Andi looked at me again. "Look, this isn't about hating her. I just think it would be...a fun little experiment if you were to hang out with them and then tell us everything that they say."

"What do we even talk about?" I asked, I had no clue on how to fit in with the Panthers.

"Hair products!" Andi suggested.

"Chris Hemsworth!" Daniel said.

Chris Hemsworth? "Is that a band?"

Andi sighed, exasperated. "Would you just do it? Please?"

Andi wasn't going to relent. I sighed, "okay fine."

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! I was pretty busy lately. Anyway, 'Thomas' was actually supposed to be Mac, but I figured since he was a Shark he would be sitting with Andi and Daniel so...**

**I didn't want to use 'fetch' so I used 'tote' instead XD 'Fetch' means to carry, and so does 'tote.' Tote sounds like a phrase right? Or is it not going to happen? ;D**

**At the end, since Emma's girly, I figured she'd already have pink clothing. Thus, she doesn't need to ask for any.**

**Oh, and Pennsylvania has a lot of rural areas that have farms so that's why Sophie asked Emma if she had one XD **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: And now, the moment we've all been waiting for… the meeting of Jemma! —lovethatignites**

* * *

By the time eighth period rolled around, I was beyond relieved. Math class. I'm good at math. I understand math. I take great notes in math…

…when I have a pencil.

At some point today, amidst skipping class with Andi and Daniel and having lunch with the Panthers, I apparently lost my pencil. Wonderful. All my backups were in my locker and it wasn't like I could cast a spell to make one appear. I'd have to talk out loud to do that, and even if whispered, someone could see. Exposing magic to humans was the number one no-no of the magic realm. I'd never risked it before; I wasn't going to risk it now.

But I needed a pencil. I couldn't just sit there for forty minutes and not take notes.

_I guess I can ask the guy in front of me if he has an extra…_

I swallowed my talking-to-a-new-person nerves and reached my hand forward to tap him on the shoulder. "Hey, do you—"

_Zzzzz!_

I jolted backward the second I felt the shock.

He felt it, too, because immediately he whirled around and…

…my heart exploded in my chest. My brain turned to mush and everything in the room that wasn't him disappeared. He was _good-looking_. No; the boy who used to go past my apartment in Pennsylvania every day on his skateboard was good-looking. This guy was more than good-looking. He was… What was it Andi called me? A hottie? Yeah, this guy was a hottie. He had short black hair and gorgeous brown eyes and he was looking—scratch that; _staring_—at me, too, and I couldn't do anything about it because I couldn't talk and I don't think he could either and _what was happening?_

He's a witch?

He broke out of our mutual trance first. He looked me over but it was a lot different than when Daniel did so under the tree. This guy looked me over slowly and intently, and the mischievous glint in his eyes told me he liked what he was seeing. My face turned every shade of red in existence.

Katie mentioned this at lunch today. It was a phrase she'd used to describe what Thomas was doing when he was looking at some other girl's body…

Checking her out! That's it! Katie was upset because she saw Thomas openly checking out some other girl, Taylor-something, I think. And now this supremely good looking witch guy was checking me out and he was smirking and he wasn't trying to hide the fact that he was smirking and oh gosh now he's making eye contact again and I lied: there were more shades of red for my face to turn.

Before I could actually die, Ms. Ramona's voice sounded from the front of the classroom. "Mr. Novoa, is there a reason you're turned around?"

_Novoa? Even his last name is hot!_

He looked at her but didn't answer because I was the only one who knew why he'd turned around. Which meant I needed to get my voice to work so I could rescue him.

"Um, I-I was just asking him for a pencil," I managed, face on fire. I dumbly forced myself to make eye contact with him for the _third time_ and muttered, "Can I borrow a pencil?"

He sort of laughed, but not in a mean way. It was in an… amused way. _His laugh is so cute…_  
Ms. Ramona looked back and forth between the two of us and rolled her eyes. "Just take care of it then pay attention."

"Of course, Ms. Ramona," he said…

Wait for it.

_Wait for it._

Are you ready?

IN AN AUSTRALIAN ACCENT.

He's Australian!

How does he even exist?

I was internally freaking out when he turned around, waved his index finger, and summoned a pencil to appear on my desk. Right in front of everyone and without casting a spell!

"Wha… H-How'd you—"  
"You're welcome," he whispered in his beautiful accent, that enticing smirk appearing on his face once more. And then he turned around and said nothing to me for the rest of class, leaving me with a thousand questions and some new feeling I'd never experienced before. It was like every fiber of my being was screaming, _I want him so badly!_

I tried to focus and take my usually precise notes, but my mind was sort of elsewhere, meaning it was doing this:

_Novoa._

_Emma Novoa._

_It could happen._

_It_ will _happen._

* * *

When Dad got home that night, I already had dinner on the table.

He raised an eyebrow with surprise. "I thought it was my turn to cook."

"I was in a good mood," I explained with a love-struck smile.

"I take it someone had a good second day?"

"_Great_ second day," I clarified. "Someone had a great second day."

Dad and I chatted over the chicken and mashed potatoes I'd made. He told me about his principal-y stuff and I told him about Andi and Daniel and Maddie. Part of me wanted to tell him about _Mr. Novoa_, but another part of me didn't. Something was telling me not to. Like this was something Dad didn't need to know about. I used to tell him everything, but if I still did that, I'd have told him about skipping class and The Plan. And that definitely was not happening.

_I guess things are starting to change…_

* * *

The next day was Wednesday.

I was wearing pink.

Nothing special, just a bow in my hair. Iridium High was a uniform school so I could only assume this was how the Panthers wore pink.

I was wrong. They were wearing pink argyle socks.

When I arrived at the lunch table, their seating arrangement was a bit different than it was yesterday. Instead of sitting Sophie-Maddie-Katie on one side of the table, they were sitting Maddie-Katie on one side with Sophie on the other, across from Maddie. I figured the seat across from Katie was for me.

"Hey," Maddie greeted me with a smile. "Sit." She motioned to the seat diagonal from her.

I was right.

I smiled nervously and did as she said. Like me, Katie and Sophie each had a Diet Coke and a salad container on their lunch trays. Maddie did not. On Maddie's tray were some special green diet drink and a side dish of salad in the corner which she wasn't touching. In the center of her tray was a fashion magazine. She lazily flipped through its pages while I got situated.

And once I got situated, it was like Hell broke loose.

Having lunch with the Panthers was like leaving the actual world and entering Girl World. And Katie was prepared to tell me alllll about the many, many rules of Girl World.

"You can't wear your uniform cardigan two days in a row, and you can only straighten your hair once a week," she said about ten minutes into her speech. She gave me a small smile as she examined my ever straight hair. "So I guess you picked today…"

I tried to return the smile but I didn't understand. Why did it matter how I wore my hair or how many times I wore it that way?

"Oh, and we only wear dress pants on Fridays," Katie went on. "And if you break any of these rules, you can't sit with us at lunch. Well I mean like, not just you; any of us." She glanced toward Andi's table and lowered her voice. "Okay, like if _I_ was wearing dress pants today, I would be sitting over there with the art freaks."

I followed her gaze to find Andi strategically placing lunch meat on Daniel's face. He didn't seem to be enjoying it, but Andi clearly found it hilarious. I bit back a smile.

Katie's voice pulled me back to our own table. "Oh, and we always vote before we ask someone to eat lunch with us because…" She got a sentimental look on her face. "You have to be considerate of the rest of the group."

This time I genuinely returned the smile. They value what one another thinks. That's nice.

"And you wouldn't buy a skirt without asking your friends first if it looks good on you."

Aaaand we're back to making no sense.

"I wouldn't?"

"Right." Katie's tone said she was happy I understood. Good thing I didn't. "Oh, and it's the same with guys. Like… You may think you like someone, but…" She glanced at Maddie who was now examining the back of a candy package. Katie's tone became darker when she returned her attention to me. "You could be wrong."

I didn't get to process this new level of ridiculous because Maddie started talking.

"A hundred and twenty calories and forty-eight calories from fat; what percent is that?"

Immediately, my wheels started turning.

"Um… forty-eight into one-twenty?" Katie tried hopefully.

"I'm only eating foods with less than thirty percent calories from fat," Maddie explained.

"It's forty percent," I announced.

Maddie, Katie, and Sophie all looked at me with confusion.

"Well, forty-eight over one-twenty equals x over a hundred…"

The girls tilted their heads, becoming even more confused.

"…and then you cross-multiply and get the value of x."

A flash of exasperation crossed Maddie's face, but it quickly vanished. She shook her head, tossed the unopened candy package onto her tray, and pushed her chair out so she could stand. "Whatever. I'm getting cheese fries."

I considered telling her those had to have at least three times the calories the candy had, but decided to keep my mouth shut instead.

Once Maddie walked away, Katie leaned forward and said, "So. Have you seen any guys that you think are cute yet?"

Sophie grinned, eager to hear my answer.

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Maybe I should have been cautious of spilling the beans since apparently I needed their approval to like someone, but Iridium High was huge; they probably didn't even know _him_. And—come on; if they did know him, there was no way they wouldn't approve. I mean, he's gorgeous. And I was dying to tell someone about my crush, and from what Katie told me, the Panthers told each other everything… "Well, there's this guy in my calculus class who's—"

Sophie gasped, her blue eyes lighting up with excitement. "Who is it?"

"It's a senior?" Katie seemed both surprised and impressed.

"Well, I don't know his first name, but his last name's Novoa and he's really—"

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the table did a 180.

"No!" Katie exclaimed, horror written all over her face.

"No," Sophie repeated, shaking her head. Her expression mirrored Katie's. "No."

"Oh, no, you can't like Jax Novoa. That's Maddie's ex-boyfriend."

I didn't even get to internally gush over the fact that his first name was the coolest name I'd ever heard in my life because Sophie said all dramatically, "They went out for a _year_."

"Yeah, and then she was devastated when he broke up with her last summer." Katie pouted, almost like she was trying to make me feel bad for Maddie.

But then Sophie tilted her head and said, "I thought she dumped him for Diego Rueda…"

Katie shot Sophie a look that said _Nice one_ and held up her hand. "Okay, irregardless—"

I mentally noted that's not a word.

"—ex-boyfriends are just off limits to friends. I mean, that's just like, the rules of feminism!" I guess Katie noticed my frown because she gave me a reassuring smile and said in almost a whisper, "Don't worry. I'll never tell Maddie what you said. It'll be our little secret."

Sophie nodded her agreement. Her expression made me feel like she thought this was some generous gift they were bestowing upon me.

Maybe it was.

* * *

For the rest of the day, I replayed the lunch scene over and over again in my head. Maybe I could do it. Maybe I could stop liking… I tried not to melt…_Jax Novoa_. The Panthers were my friends (sort of), so I had to follow their rules. _Ex-boyfriends are just off limits to friends._ Okay. That's understandable.

My mind was on the right track until eighth period. I was walking through the door when my books randomly flew out of my grasp. I dropped to the floor to pick them up when suddenly they picked themselves up and flew into my arms. I gasped and looked up to find Jax towering over me, smirking.

"Sorry about that."

My heart started doing that Thing again.

He held his hand out to me and without thinking I took it. The only word my brain could make out was _right_. This felt right. Our hands touching felt right.

"Aren't you worried someone's going to see you… you know." I made a motion with my hand to indicate magic.

Jax ran his thumb over mine and took a step closer to me, leaving literally no space in between us. "Do you feel like I'm someone who worries?"

My mouth wordlessly opened and closed at least three times. More people were filing into the classroom and it was almost time for the bell to ring.

"Whoa, there, calm down," he said, that mischievous glint returning to his eyes.

"W-What are you talking about?" I stammered.

He shook his head and chuckled. "I can feel your heartbeat."

"How can you—"

"It's your magical energy. When two magical beings have a connection and they make physical contact, they can feel each other's magical energy, if they try. Now let me ask you again: do you feel like I'm someone who worries?"

We have a connection? Eeep! Does that mean he likes me, too? Wait, I'm not supposed to like him. Shut up, Emma, he asked you a question!

I closed my eyes and tried as hard as I could to take my focus off my own tachycardia (which I was now super self-conscious of). I tried as hard as I could to focus on Jax. A beat passed. And then another. And then—

I felt it. This calm, relaxed, chill vibe. I _felt_ it. I, Emma Alonso, felt a calm and relaxed vibe. That feeling sure as heck was not mine, which meant I'd done it!

I gasped and opened my eyes just as the bell rang. "No. You're really relaxed."

Jax smiled down at me. "Very good."

"Jax, Emma." Ms. Ramona cocked her head at us. "It's only the third day. Don't get on my bad side already. Be in your seats before the bell, remember?"

"S-Sorry, Ms. Ramona." As much as I didn't want to, I let go of Jax's hand and hurried to my seat. He did the same.

I was intense in class that day. I correctly answered every question Ms. Ramona threw my way and even volunteered to answer a few problems other kids didn't know the answers to. It was damage control; I didn't want a single teacher to dislike me.

Finally, when there was only a minute of class remaining, I decided I'd been enough of a try-hard today. I let my eyes wander from the board to a certain guy sitting in front of me. A certain guy with adorable black hair and mesmerizing brown eyes and expert magic skills…

And that was okay! Because even though I wasn't allowed to like Jax, I was still allowed to look at him…

The dismissal bell rang.

And think about him…

Jax stood and started walking away.

And talk to him…? I really did want to know how he did magic without casting spells…

I stood and started after him. "Hey, Ja—"

Suddenly, a kid with dark skin and mop-like hair popped up in front of me. "You're the Pennsylvania girl, right?" he asked all too enthusiastically.

Behind him, Jax's retreating back disappeared out the door with the rest of our classmates.

Great. Mood: ruined.

"Yeah."

"I'm Sebastian the Camera Guy, captain of the Iridium High Mathletes."

_His last name is the Camera Guy…?_

"We participate in math challenges against other high schools in Florida, and we can get twice as much funding if we've got a girl. So you should think about joining."

Behind us, Ms. Ramona finished erasing the whiteboard and sat down at her desk. She made it no secret she'd been listening because she smiled and said, "Oh, you'd be perfect for it."

I forced a smile. My good mood might have been down the toilet, but it was nice to be wanted. "Yeah, definitely."

"Great, great. Let me give you my card…" Sebastian extracted a business card from the pocket of his dress pants and handed it to me. It read:

** SEBASTIAN THE CAMERA GUY**  
** MATH ENTHUSIAST / CAMERA GUY**  
** 786-555-2148**

Um…

"Okay, so think it over." Sebastian gave me an odd smile. "Because we'd like to get jackets." He walked past me to a white board in the back of the room where another guy was already writing out some math equation. Mathletes meeting, I guess.

I nodded to myself. "Okay."

And with that, I left the classroom, collected my things from my locker, and walked toward the exit doors.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Maddie told me to wait for her after school. So, with my backpack on my shoulder, I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Gazing around at my surroundings, I noticed that I was a little ways away from Iridium High's pool. I saw a boy getting out of the water that looked pretty familiar...

Wait, is that Jax?!

My mouth dropped at the sight of his naked torso, he was...fit! And since he was in the school's pool, I guess that would mean he's on the swim team; he's an athlete too! Not surprised, considering his muscles...

To my humiliation, he noticed my gawking. I could feel my face begin to heat up, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Smirking, he rose two fingers to his forehead, then pointed them at me. He finished off the greeting with a wink.

Am I dead yet? How am I not a puddle right now?!

Biting my lip, I grinned as I tentatively rose my hand in a small wave.

Our moment was ruined when a car viciously honked.

Surprised, I snapped my head around to see Maddie's shiny pink Lexus. Maddie was driving, with Katie in the passenger seat and Sophie in the back. "Get in loser, we're going shopping!" Maddie yelled.

I risked one quick look back at Jax, whose face considerably darkened. I wonder what his problem was. I threw him one last smile before running to the car and getting in next to Sophie.

At the mall, we walked in a horizontal row. I found that nothing could break us apart, the others wouldn't let it happen. If a lady tried walked towards us, Maddie just held her smoothie cup towards her, then the lady would take off running. I guess the Panthers were regulars here.

With Maddie's expensive sparkling purse, hair perfectly styled, and top notch shoes, I figured that she's the Barbie doll I never had. I've never seen anybody so glamorous.

Looking to my right, I saw Andi in some soap and lotion store, working the cash register. Huh, I didn't know she worked. She saw me, grinned, then gave me two-thumbs up. I returned the smile, then paid attention to what was in front of us again.

"So, how do you like Iridium?" Katie asked, all of a sudden paying attention to me.

I nodded, "it's good. I think I'm joining Mathletes." I figured I'd tell them, it's good to be involved in your school, right?

"No!" Katie protested.

"No, no!" Sophie repeated, reminding me of lunch when I mentioned Jax. Hm, I wonder what he's doing right now. Probably swimming, shirtless...

No, pay attention to the real world Emma!

"No, no." Maddie spoke, in a tone that just dared me to argue with her. "You cannot do that, that is social suicide."

Social suicide?

"Damn, you are so lucky you have us to guide you," Maddie finished.

Finally, we came to a stop above a really nice-looking water fountain. It even had a rim around it where people could sit! I only heard about them, they didn't have those in Brookefield.

"Oh my God, there's Thomas!" Katie gasped.

"Where? Oh, there he is," Sophie replied.

I looked, and sure enough, there was Thomas aka the boy that harassed me at lunch.

"And he's with Taylor Wedell," Katie growled.

"I heard they're going out," Sophie said.

"Wait. Thomas is not going out with Taylor," Maddie, who has been silent this whole time, finally spoke, "no. He cannot blow you off like that." She rolled her eyes, "he's such a little skeez. Give me your phone." Maddie held out her hand towards Katie, who stared at it with confusion in her eyes.

Nevertheless, she reached in her purse and handed Maddie her phone. "You're not gonna call him, right?" She asked.

Maddie rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"No," Katie quickly answered.

After pushing a few buttons, Maddie pressed the phone to her ear. Then, after waiting a few seconds, she began to talk again. "Hello? May I please speak to Taylor Wedell?"

...

"Oh, this is Susan from Planned Parenthood. I have her test results, if you could have her give me a call back as soon as she can. It's urgent, thank you!" Smirking, she tapped the screen and gave it back to Katie, who was looking happily surprised.

"She's not going out with anyone," Maddie sneered.

I couldn't believe what just happened. However, I couldn't voice my disapproval, so like Sophie, I silently smiled and nodded my head.

"Ok, that was so tote!" Katie squealed.

The Head Panther frowned for a split second, before it transformed into a smile, then strutted off with Katie and Sophie in tow.

Looking back towards the now previous couple, I saw Taylor holding her phone to her ear, looking like she was about to burst into tears. "Mom?"

I couldn't watch, so I followed after my new friends.

Later on, Maddie drove us to her house. Or, should I say, mansion. She had a larger fountain in her front yard, and a circular driveway. Maddie stopped the Lexus in front of the huge porch.

Getting out of the car, I looked up, getting an eyeful of the beautiful house. I wish I could live here. "Your house is really nice!"

Maddie turned to me, smiling. "I know, right?"

I frowned, I don't remember the last time I said 'thank you' and the other person didn't say 'you're welcome.'" She started walking up the steps, followed by Sophie. However, Katie paused by me. "Make sure you check out her mom's boob job, they're hard as rocks!"

Boob job? I know what boobs are, considering I have them, but I'm not sure what the 'job' part means.

We walked past the large foyer into an even larger living room. "I'm home!" Maddie shouted into the open air.

Not long after, a woman with light brown hair and wearing a red dress, high heels, and gaudy jewelry came in the room. "Hey, hey, hey! How are my best girlfriends?"

"Hey, Mrs. Van Pelt!" Katie greeted, then gestured to me, "this is Emma."

Mrs. Van Pelt smiled tenderly at me. "Hello sweetheart."

"Hi," I replied politely.

"Welcome to our home!" Maddie's mom opened out her arms to engulf me in a hug, which allowed me to see her, uh, big assets...that were going to crush me in a second.

When she hugged me, it felt like rocks were digging themselves into my chest. "Ow!" I lightly let out. I couldn't help it, it was painful!

Letting go, she stepped back. "Just want you to know, if you need anything, don't be shy, okay? There are no rules in this house, I'm not like a regular mom, I'm a cool mom. Right, Maddie-winky?"

"Please stop talking," she answered.

"Okay!" Mrs. Van Pelt said, obviously not angry in the slightest. If I talked to my dad like that, not that I would, but if I did he'd be really mad. "I'm gonna make you girls a hump-day treat!" Her mom left the room, swinging her hips in the process.

After that, Maddie took us to her room.

"This is your room?" I asked, taking it all in. It was huge, it made mine look like a tiny closet.

"It was my parents' room, but I made them trade me," she grinned, walking over to a walk-in closet.

Smiling at herself in the mirror, she rose her finger, then began twirling it around, green light energy emitting from it. Wait a minute, she's a witch too?!

Suddenly, she was wearing a casual, but still expensive, outfit. She flipped her hair as she stepped out.

"Wait," I stopped her, "you're a witch?!"

To my surprise she giggled. "Panthers, did you forget to tell Emma that little detail?"

"Um, but I thought you would want it to be kept secret?" Katie asked.

"And why were you thinking?" Maddie asked exasperated. "Never mind. Emma," she turned to me, "since you're now a Panther, you can know about my powers." With a smile, she turned back towards Katie and Sophie, but then looked at me again.

"Hey," she rose an eyebrow, "why did you call me a 'witch?' People would normally say that I have powers or something. How do you know about witches?"

Now the other two Panthers were eyeing me curiously, Maddie looked as if she was an interrogating cop, and I was the guilty criminal.

Well, I guess I better let her know. It's only fair, since I know her secret, right? "Yeah, I'm a witch too."

She rose an eyebrow, "cast a spell, then."

I sighed, I didn't like casting a spell on command, I felt it was my freedom to cast one. Nevertheless, I performed the simple spell of making Maddie's hairbrush appear in my hand.

She nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Nice."

Unlike their leader, Katie and Sophie were in pure shock. However, they let it go shortly after and walked in front of a full-length mirror, scrutinizing their every detail. I guess since they were so used to Maddie having magical powers, that it didn't bother them so much that I had them too.

"I hate my calves," Katie complained, staring at her legs.

"At least you guys can wear halters, I've got man shoulders!" Maddie groaned in annoyance.

After some much self-loathing, the Panthers turned their gazes onto me. My mind instantly drew a blank, I was proud of myself and my body. I know I had flaws, but I just focused on the positives. That doesn't make me sound vain, does it?

Come on Emma, think of something!

"I have really bad breath in the morning."

They all tilted their heads with narrowed eyes, obviously weirded out by my response. "Ew," Sophie whispered.


End file.
